George Fulton’s article was good but yellow journalism isn’t the same thing as conflict of interest.
KARACHI: George Fulton’s article was good but yellow journalism isn’t the same thing as conflict of interest.
From Wikipedia: “Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. [1] Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. [1] By extension ‘Yellow Journalism’ is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.”
Conflict of interest: “A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organisation is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other. A conflict of interest can only exist if a person or testimony is entrusted with some impartiality; a modicum of trust is necessary to create it. The presence of a conflict of interest is independent from the execution of impropriety. Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs.”
The first is legal, although not professional; the second can result in fines and jail terms in many countries. Sorry, the pedant in me just had to point that out. Otherwise, the writer raises excellent points about the nature of journalism in places where no code of ethics exists (Pakistan and elsewhere).
Bina Shah
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2011.
